Blue Lantern - Privatized Astronomy
by natchioscheese
Summary: Years after a mysterious being called the Tribunal arrived and nearly wiped out Earth, the Justice League and metahumans are ostracized by the world government and in hiding. After finding a Blue Lantern ring that her parents kept hidden from her, Alison Lazuli, a freshman in Metropolis University, will find herself thrown into the middle of a world of super heroes and villains.
1. Prologue

_Everything starts with good intentions._

 _Love and hate. Pain and affection. Opposing sides sharing a common origin. It's a shared parentage that has allowed society to prosper and grow. Intentions get interpreted, and then acted on by vastly different people living vastly different lives. Choices and actions are made based on an individual's own unique perception and worldview, and then these choices get compared to by those around them. If there's dissent, it's voiced, and therefore spoken about. With communication, empathy and understanding take place, and with a little luck, an agreement can be reached._

 _The values of justice, liberty, and freedom are mentioned quite liberally in our social circles. They have become abstract terms shared by people that don't actually share the same meanings with one another. But the intent is there. The desire to do the right thing. It's only after we look at the mess we've made that we're ready to admit we've made a mistake._

 **72 HOURS AFTER THE TRIBUNAL**

"I swear to God, Bradley. If you say 'we're almost done' one more time I will beat your ass right on this table."

Jenn clamped her hands onto the surgical table and belted out a scream. "Holy _shit_."

Bradley sat next to her, attempting to feed his wife an ice chip with one hand, and holding a bowl full of more frozen treats with the other. He took a quick glance at the doctor, who had been silent for the past couple of minutes. A nurse sat opposite to Bradley, coaching his wife and reciting breathing exercises that Jenn would attempt, but immediately stop once the pain set in again.

Occasionally, the operating room's lights would flicker off for just a little too long, and Jenn would scream, not out of pain, but fear. At this point, the only source of light would be two flashlights that were roped onto IV poles placed behind the doctor to prevent any loss of power from leaving the doctor and his patients in darkness.

The earth rumbled during one these flickerings and Jenn yelped in fear. Her husband dropped the frozen snack and extended his hand to her shoulder. "No, no. It's okay. It's okay," he said, as his hand's grip tightened, "you have no reason to be scared right now. This is the final stretch."

Jenn glared at her husband. "Do you think you'd do better? Because I'll switch you places right now."

"He's not lying this time, Mrs. Lazuli," the doctor laughed, as he spread his hands to cradle the exiting baby, "just one more final push, now."

Bradley looked at his beautiful wife as she screamed in pain, as a sudden silence fell upon him. It was like someone flipped on a switch, and now nothing else existed, except for his wife. The hospital's flickering lights and decrepit scenery faded out of his sight as he gave her a longing gaze. Finally, her right hand switched from the table and gripped his arm, embedding her nails as she let out one final scream.

Suddenly, his wife's screams were drowned out by a different yell. A new sound to Bradley's palate, the crying was unlike anything he had ever heard in his life, but somehow completely familiar. In the darkness, the doctor handed over the crying silhouette to the nurse, who snipped the umbilical cord. She glanced at the child, and motioned the doctor over, pointing at the newborn.

"What's the problem, doctor?" Jenn's exhaustion suddenly disappeared as her heart filled with dread.

The doctor let out a chuckle. "I'm not usually wrong, but I guess I'm living proof that no doctor, no matter how many years of medicine they have practiced, is perfect." He handed the baby back to the nurse, who in one swift motion wrapped the child in a light blue blanket. The nurse approached the couple.

"You're going to need a different colored blanket." the doctor said, taking off his gloves and wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"What are you talking about?" Bradley replied.

"Well, for your not-son. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Lazuli. You have a daughter."

The nurse gently placed the wrapped newborn onto her mother's arms as the young parents stared at their daughter, her symphony of cries echoing in the destroyed hospital room.

"We have to transfer you over to the room next door so we can begin to clean up here, since there are other doctors waiting to use this room," the nurse said as she stepped on the safety stop on the surgical table's wheels, and began to roll away the young mother and her baby. "We'll make sure the baby is healthy there. Meanwhile, your husband can wait for you guys in the waiting room."

"Wait, why can't I come?" Bradley stood up, ready to follow his wife.

"It's just a small room so there's not a lot of space. I promise it won't be long." the doctor said, patting the Bradley's built shoulder as Jenn was wheeled out of the room. Brad yelled at his exiting wife, "I'll be waiting for you! In the waiting room!"

Just as the flapping doors came to a halt, it was finally over. The events of the past three days had weighed heavily on the shoulders of the young couple: the mass hysteria and destruction in the wake of the Arrival. The drive through the wreckage to arrive at the only functioning hospital when Jenn's water broke. The fear that they were bringing a child into a world that was not worth being born in. But, in the blink of a child's eye, none of those worries seemed to matter to the new parents. The first recorded parents, they would later find out, to have a child after the Arrival of the Tribunal.

* * *

A light blinked in the deep jungle. Through the fallen trees, down a shallow trench, at the base of a waterfall, the light began to blink. After months of blackness since the Arrival of the Tribunal, a deep blue light echoed through the clear water in the waterfall basin. The light had been waiting for its moment, and as made its way through the trench, breaking through the remains of fallen trees, and out into orbit, it set its course to the destination it was waiting for.

* * *

"Jesus Christ, Brad. She's been alive for five hours and you already want to kill her?"

Jenn took her eyes off their screaming child for a split second to berate her husband's swerving hands on the steering wheel. "It's bad enough that the roads are garbage, but you could drive a little slower."

"I'm sorry," Bradley responded, "I'm just excited, and she's yelling, and there's just so much debris on the roads." He took a deep breath, "You're right. I'll go slower."

"Your father is a smart man, Ali. He knows when to listen to the brains of our team." Jenn's fingers traced her crying child's face. "How long before her cries haunt our dreams, do you think?"

"It's cute you think we'll have _any_ sleep for the next two years." Bradley set his right hand on his wife's leg and marveled at his child.

"Eyes on the road, captain. I'll let you have some one-on-one time once we're home." Jenn lifted his hand and placed it back on the wheel. She took a deep breath and looked off into the distance. Somehow, in the midst of all that was left after the destruction that had taken place, being in the car with her husband and her child gave her a sense of comfort and security that she had never felt before.

As they exited the outskirts of the city and entered a country road, however, she noticed a light in the distance. "I thought this was a one way?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is. This idiot is going to hurt somebody," Bradley steered off the country road onto the pasture. The light started getting larger as it got closer. "What is he doing?" Jenn asked her husband. Bradley began to drive further away from the road, but the growing light moved in a parallel direction, always facing the front of the car.

"Brad. Stop the car. Stop the car now."

"He's going to hit us if we stand still, we need to move." Bradley sped up and drove back towards the road. The light followed and grew larger and larger as it approached the couple.

Suddenly as the brightness overtook the couple and lit up the entire windshield, the light disappeared, crashing a couple feet into the ground in front of them.

"Brad, what was that?"

"I don't know. Stay in the car."

"What the fuck you mean, 'stay in the car'? You can't seriously be thinking of going out there. Bradley, what if it's the Tribunal?"

"Jenn, it's not the Tribunal. I just want to make sure that we're safe."

"Bradley. Do not make your daughter live her life without her father."

"It'll be fine. Stay in the car."

Bradley exited the car and approached a small crater that had formed in front of their vehicle. The headlights lit up part of the crater, but the depth of the crater formed a shadow that covered the bottom of the void. As Bradley approached the earthly dip, the deep blue illumination flared up again, this time more dimly lit than before. The light floated out of the crater and began creeping its way towards the car. Upon arriving at the windshield, the light passed through, as the glass spread apart like curtains, only to return to its solid state once the fluorescent passenger made it through. Arriving at its destination, the light set itself on the chest of the baby, whose cries had suddenly stopped. Soon, the blue brightness faded away, and in its place was a ring.

"Brad. Holy shit. Brad." Jenn opened the door and jumped out, gripping her child and dropping the ring to the floor. "It's a fucking ring."

"A ring? What kind of ring?"

"Like that Green Lantern rings. Brad, it's a fucking Green Lantern ring and it chose our daughter.

"Jenn, I don't understand. What do you mean it chose our daughter? Why would it choose her?"

"I don't know, Brad, but these rings, they're given to people so they can become Green Lanterns. That's how they get their powers."

Bradley walked towards the ring and picked it up.

"Well, I don't think this is a Green Lantern ring," he said as he analyzed the ring, "for starters, it's blue"

"Don't fucking joke with me, Brad. You know what I mean. Oh my god, if the government finds out, they're going to kill us. They're going to kill us, and then they're going to take our daughter."

"Jenn, they're not going to take our daughter. They won't know. We live in the middle of nowhere. We'll be fine," Bradley grabbed the ring and placed it on his finger, when a sudden feeling of burning overtook his hand, hurting him as he dropped the ring to the ground. "Ah, _shit_."

"Bradley, what are you doing? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I guess the ring doesn't want to be worn by anyone else," he bent over and picked up the ring one more time, and gripping it tightly with his fist, "probably some kind of security thing so that only she can wear it."

The young husband approached his wife and grabbed her by the shoulders as he looked at his child.

"Listen, we will keep this ring away, and take it a day at a time. Her fingers are too small to even fit the ring, so I think it will understand if its owner doesn't wear it yet. We don't tell anyone, and the government won't find out," Bradley gently rubbed his wife's shoulders, "I know you're scared, but the government is only going after the Justice League and the other famous people with powers. If we keep quiet, everything will be fine. Besides," Bradley reached down to kiss his daughter's forehead, "This won't last. We need the Justice League. We need heroes so that things like the Tribunal don't happen again. After the dust settles and the hysteria is over, the people will realize that."

The young couple made their way home, and although they would not tell each other for years, they both began to pray that they would have a normal life every night before they went to bed. They prayed for their daughter so that she would never find out about the ring.

The next weeks, the young couple lived in paranoia. They avoided all police officers, even letting a drunk driver get away after he t-boned them. Soon, the weeks became months, and the months became years, and suddenly, Ali was asking her parents for permission to see PG-13 movies. The old building fell apart and in their place, new buildings were built, and soon, the Tribunal became an event that happened years ago, and besides the memorial, there was no real evidence of it. Soon, the daughter that they feared they'd lose to the government was getting ready to move to Metropolis to attend Met U, and the parents stopped praying for a normal life, as they were given one.

* * *

"Hello?"

A man answered his phone in between sips of his iced coffee as he sat alone at Metropolis Cafe. "Yes, her move-in date is in two weeks," the man said, as he pulled out multiple sheets of paper from a manila envelope, "but she's been here to visit the campus a couple of times. She looks good. Happy."

"What about the others?" the voice at the end of the line buzzed. "I may have found one. I'm looking at her right now if you want to join me," the man in the cafe replied, "but it may take some time. I think she's onto me."

"Well, I have all the time in the world, J'onn," the voice chuckled, "it's not like I'm getting any older."

"True, but even immortality has its consequences, I assume," J'onn said, setting down his iced coffee, "she's turning onto 5th and Maple."

J'onn looked at the stop lights in the intersection and saw as the street cameras turned to the direction of a blonde woman. She was wearing a long, black coat and a red floppy wool hat. On her face, a large pair of sunglasses sat over her eyes, the only accessory she was wearing in the absence of any jewelry or piercings.

As J'onn saw her cross the street towards him, her face tilted as she realized that he was watching her. She smiled at him, and J'onn nodded back before he pretended to keep looking in the direction that she came from.

"You're not very good at this detective thing, no wonder she's onto you," the voice on the phone laughed, "Let me know how it goes. I'll try to stay in one place."

"I'm glad your sense of humor is still intact. I'll meet you in a couple of days."

"J'onn," the voice interjected, just before the call was disconnected, "don't go super. I don't need you getting arrested."

J'onn hung up the phone and looked down at the pages he was holding.

 _Congratulations, Alison! You've been accepted to Metropolis University! Attached you will find …_

 _Maybe,_ he thought, _maybe this is exactly what we need._

 **RISE BLUE LANTERN**


	2. Chapter 1: When All Seems Lost

_What does it mean to be a hero? To save? Or is it to prevent? When it comes to public displays of super-heroism, the question always comes up in one way or another. Is it the selfless acts to help others? Is it the decision to use your position of power? Is it knowing when to stop using that position of power?_

 _Some people believe that heroes are idolized because they are seen as an extension of one's own potential. A rebuttal to this would be that the fascination of superheroes is an individual feeding their own ego, implicitly assuming that they, too, have within them what it might take to be a hero. An insecure narcissist._

 _Others believe that heroes are admired because they provide safety as they sacrifice their lives for the greater good. What's interesting is that the public's perception can be swayed from one end to the other so quickly that these heroics stop receiving gratitude and are instead being taken for granted. What was once incredible, is then the standard, and sometimes these heroes cannot live up to the impossibly large pedestal society has set them on. So, can we blame heroes for their failures, if they're trying and succeeding far more than we ever could, to begin with? Or is it their burden, that as better as they make things, they pressure the evil in the world to get worse and worse, as it tries to one-up them?_

Professor Alicia Renner raised a slip of paper with a number one written on it. She was sitting on the far-right seat on the front row. Ali nodded and gripped onto the podium facing the class.

"The truth of the matter is that regardless of whether superheroes are to blame for the world that we live in now - a world where we have a metahuman police force trying to get rid of any person with powers believing that without any superheroes there will be no supervillains - we do need these heroes."

Ali flipped her note card to its backside. It was adorned with scribbled icons and symbols that could barely be discerned as language. She then pressed onto her clicker, allowing her presentation to change slides behind her.

"The biggest point against superheroes is the Arrival of the Tribunal - but that was almost twenty years ago. Furthermore, the excuse that the Justice League is the reason why the Tribunal arrived is completely baseless," Ali let go of the podium and walked to its side. "In a universe where we've seen such cosmic destruction right at our doorstep - beings like Starro, or even the existence of the Green Lantern Corps - it all shows that we've only seen the tip of the iceberg, and actually suggests that there is so much more out there than there is here, on Earth. So, therefore, to say that the Tribunal came to Earth because of the superpowers we host… I just think it's a little short-sighted."

Ali pressed her clicker, but this time the presentation changed to an entirely black slide. She looked at the class; a sea of blank stares and disinterest. Ali's professor sat completely straight up, pencil in hand.

Ali tried to make out what her professor was writing in her rubric but immediately pulled herself out of it. She looked at the other side of the room to Dr. Walterson. Noticing Ali's fixation on him, Dr. Walterson smiled at her. Ali smiled back.

"At the beginning of this presentation, I told you that I wouldn't be able to convince you that the laws against metahumans aren't acceptable. I mean, they're not, but the point is that… that we need to have a cultural change and accept superheroes as a part of human history, not segregate them as an entirely different species. Statistically, metahuman crime has remained consistent since the task force was created, obviously after it spiked once the Justice League was ordered to cease operations and many of its members disappeared. But…"

Ali pressed her control one more time, changing the slide to a picture of a baby. The baby was wrapped in a Mexican flag that was stained and dirty. The baby's face had layers of sediment and coal on its cheekbones, but even whilst covered in dirt, its two eyes gleamed like golden pebbles.

"This is a baby they found in the wreckage of a metahuman safehouse in Mexico after their earthquake this January. No one knows who the parents are - not that it matters since everyone in the wreckage was dead except for the baby."

The professor raised a small notecard. A "00:30" was written on the card with a marker.

Ali took a deep breath, and pressed the control one more time, this time leading to a completely black screen. On the top of the screen was a tiny disclaimer. There were no more slides left.

"This baby is being raised in max security. It's been uncovered that its abilities allow it to have unbreakable skin - this is how he survived the building collapse. Now, the baby hasn't done anything yet, and I went over earlier why recidivism is so common amongst metahumans - they don't know any other way to live. So, we are going to raise this baby in a prison, secluded from everyone and without the nourishment and love children need, on the off chance that he might be a criminal. The irony being, of course, that this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy that will probably end up with making that baby a criminal because we raised him to be one. All I ask… All I ask is for all of you to think - is this what being a hero is?"

Ali awkwardly curtsied to her classroom's scattered applause. The professor stood up from her desk and faced the class.

"All right, now it's time for some questions."

After a moment of silence, four hands were raised, simultaneously.

"Alright, Donnie."

Donnie shuffled in his seat to make himself comfortable. He was wearing a grey polyester vest and a long-sleeved pastel orange shirt underneath. His perfectly straightened khaki pants contrasted heavily from his beer-worn brown moccasins.

"You talk a lot about metahumans being heroes, but you yourself stated that metahuman crime has remained consistent since the Arrival of the Tribunal. Don't you think this indicates that metahumans are more likely to be criminals? "

Donnie smiled at Ali. She cleared her throat.

"Besides, the Tribunal was called the Tribunal, because of it, you know, judges, right? So, wouldn't you assume that as it came to Earth and attacked only the metahumans, regardless of whether they were evil or in the Justice League, that it was judging them as not being worthy or not being good people?"

"I mean, all that you're saying, it's all..." Ali looked down at her notecard and placed it back down on the podium. "It's all speculation. As a matter of fact, we only know it was attacking metahumans because they were the only ones fighting back. If it was here to really get rid of all metas, it wouldn't have left after Superman… you know."

"Bailed?" Donnie smiled back at Ali.

"Right," Ali responded, smiling to hide her grinding teeth. "That's what a few news outlets reported. I just don't think it's a coincidence that Superman just happened to disappear before the Tribunal left."

"Maybe that's why it left us. We didn't have what it was looking for anymore."

"Alright, Donne. Off topic," Alicia interjected. "Any other questions?"

She scanned the room to find some students with their backpacks sitting on their desk whilst others were zipping them closed, their respective desks barren of any utensils.

"Alright, I suppose it's time. Before we go, let's all give Dr. Walterson a round of applause for coming in this week to help us with our debate speeches."

The class immediately broke into loud applause and whistles. Ali reached over to her stuff and began packing.

"Well, that was unnecessary. See you guys next week," Alicia got up and walked towards her stuff on the desk next to the podium. "Hey, great job, Ali."

"Thanks. Not too bad, right?" Ali responded.

"No, not at all," Dr. Walterson said, approaching the podium and picking up Ali's notecard. "Bold move, talking about superheroes in our current political climate your you first speech."

"Well, that's part of the lesson, right?" Ali zipped up her backpack and slung it over her shoulders. "I mean, like, talking about something controversial to help us see things from the other side and create understanding."

"Well, it's more to help cultivate individuality and fight back against whatever preconceptions have been indoctrinated into us," Dr. Walterson responded. "How do your parents feel about metahumans?"

"They never really talked about it. They said it was too touchy of a subject and that it was better just to avoid any confrontations in general."

Dr. Walterson raised his dark, thick eyebrows.

"Sounds like they were more tolerant than most. That's good."

"Yeah. I guess they did okay." Ali smiled and started to head out of the classroom.

"Hey, uh, Ali, is it?"

Ali turned around. "Yes, as in short for Allison."

"I noticed you didn't mention any of the Starr Labs break ins during your presentation. Any reason why?" Dr. Walterson looked on both sides of the note card.

Ali turned around and faced Dr. Walterson before giving a quick look at her professor. "I'm not losing points because of that am I?"

Alicia laughed. "No, you're not. The presentation is over."

"I just think there isn't enough information regarding them. I mean, they're being called terrorist attacks, but no one has died. I don't even think anyone has been injured, right?"

"But it's still theft and destruction of property," Dr. Walterson responded. He put his hands inside the pockets of his brown suit. The jacket's light hue complemented his dark skin as it reflected the light from the LED lights above. "Don't you think it's a little concerning that they've been stealing a lot of robotics and weapons?"

"I didn't know that's what they were stealing," Alicia interjected. "I thought the only reported losses were computers. None of the major newspapers reported anything about weapons."

"Yeah, me neither," Ali agreed. "Where'd you read that?"

"Hey now, it might've just been hearsay. I don't remember the source. You know how the media cycle can be. All of them shuffling for a big break," Dr. Walterson chuckled. "Wouldn't that be something, though?"

"That'd be horrifying. Now you got me all worried." Alicia laughed gently and grabbed Dr. Walterson's arm.

"Yeah, well I'm sure everything will be just fine. I'm sure they got the right people on the job," Dr. Walterson glanced over to Ali before cracking a smile. "It was nice to meet, you Ali. Good luck this semester."

Dr. Walterson extended his arm over to Ali and shook her hand before handing her notecard back.

* * *

Ali dropped her backpack as soon as she was back in her dorm room. She took off her shoes, and jumped on the bed with her phone in hand. She put it against her ear.

"Hey, mom," Ali said, quietly letting out a gentle sigh, "No, nothing's wrong. I just called to chat. You don't have to ask me that every time I call you." Ali looked outside her window. "It's already night time. I'm going to have to get used to this Metropolis winter I keep hearing about."

Below her bed, far from Ali's sight, her backpack started to emit a pulsing, faded light from its front pocket.

The notecard.

* * *

"You what?"

"I placed the nano receiver onto her notecard."

"I heard you the first time, J'onn, but why would you do that? That's disposable. You were supposed to put on her jacket or something. She wouldn't just throw away her jacket."

Dr. Walterson walked back to his car in the faculty parking lot while talking on the phone. On the other side of the lot, Alicia was entering her car. She waved at Dr. Walterson. He smiled back.

"Yes, because guest speakers having physical contact with students is a normal thing."

"Alright, man. Now you're just making it sound weird," the voice on the other line responded. "You're not _actually_ a teacher, you know."

J'onn looked at his reflection on the car's driver side mirror, only to find Dr. Walterson stare back.

"Anyways, I've tapped into the card now. Sounds like she's on the phone." the voice responded, through the phone.

"Alright, then I'll take care of the next part of the plan."

J'onn looked around the vacant parking lot. No one was near. As he removed his satchel from over his shoulder, he opened the trunk. Inside was the real Dr. Walterson, tied and gagged. His pupils were entirely grayed out, void of any color or sparkle.

"I do appreciate your cooperation. I promise, we will be done soon," J'onn comforted the abductee.

J'onn took off his satchel and placed the bag inside the trunk, careful to leave his kidnapped doppelganger sufficient space. He closed the trunk before entering the car, and then drove out of the parking lot.

* * *

J'onn drove the car off the concrete street and followed a trial of tire marks. Upon arriving at the end of the makeshift road, he got out of the car. He stared off past the cliff they were on, and took a deep breath.

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes," a raspy voice responded from the interior of the car. "I can sort of see and be anywhere I want at the same time, but it's hard to replace the thousands of little things that are all happening."

"I understand. We are used to the sensory overload."

"Nah, man. It's not an overload. It's just our body avoiding distractions and just, you know, prioritizing," the voice responded, static interference notwithstanding. "If you just soak in it for a second, I'm sure you'll feel it."

J'onn closed his eyes. He slowly breathed out, and loosened his hands. The muscles were sore from such extended periods of being cramped up, but J'onn hadn't noticed. His skin slowly faded from the dark auburn into it's natural, tender jade. As he opened his eyes again, and instead of the brown eyes he shared from Dr. Walterson, there were two deep, red rubies staring out to the setting sun.

"When's the last time you did this?" the voice echoed from the car.

"In public, like this? Since… the Tribunal," J'onn responded.

"I just wanted you to remember who you are. Who you've been."

"Thank you, my friend," J'onn walked around toward the trunk of the car. "I needed this."

J'onn popped open the trunk, and lifted Dr. Walterson, taking him back to the front seat. Returning for the doctor's satchel, J'onn checked to make sure that the phone was still there. He went around the other way, and gently paced the satchel on the passenger seat. He closed the door, and took a deep breath.

J'onn's skin faded out into a light pink, and a dark blue coat manifested over him. He looked at his chest and saw a shiny silver badge, glimmering against the sunset's light. J'onn walked back around the car until he was facing its trunk, looking out into the sunset that was blossoming beyond. He rested his on the trunk of Dr. Walterson's car.

Then he pushed it off the cliff.


	3. Chapter 2: In Raging Night

Small plants and bushes decorated the otherwise desolate hillside. Growing through the remains of the previous tenants on the land, vines wrapped around forgotten fences and tangled around barbed wire. A barn and a farmhouse stood on the plateaued side of the hill, surrounded by the perimeter of wooden hurdles that were overgrown with weeds and bushes.

Inside the shabby old barn, hundreds of bales of hay began to shake. Abrupt gusts whirled in through the broken roof, launching thousands of stalks out of their bundles and chaotically dispersing the golden strands away from the building's broken-in sunroof. The ceiling's truss and the wall's columns all began to tremble, and with one final thud, the contents inside the derelict structure were forced out of the way by a sudden crash landing. In its place, a long cape covered the barn's newly-arrived guest, wrapping itself around them.

Pushing against the hay-covered floor, the newcomer lifted themselves up and patted off any rogue golden strands that attached themselves to their black and red suit. After a few steps forward, the figure gazed deeply at the exit of the barn, looking past the farm, past the vine-covered fences, and finally into a collection of concrete buildings that made up a facility at the center of tall, electric fences. Tapping into her in-ear piece, the figure announced her arrival.

"I'm here."

Short spurts of white noise buzzed through the earpiece before she heard the voice at the other end. "Well, the convoy is still about 5 miles away. I said you'd be getting there too early, Kara. _I told you_ ," the voice muttered.

Kara clenched her fist and exhaled, unleashing a short wave of force that pushed back against the interior of the barn, making its foundations creek.

"I don't want to listen to any of your tantrums. Don't forget, Kara, _you_ came to _me_."

"That ship sailed a long time ago. We are a team now," the Kryptonian said, exiting the barn as the building collapsed under its weight behind her. "What's the security situation like?"

Security cameras posted on the facility began to turn side by side, facing opposite directions and examining the area below.

"There's nobody out here, and everyone inside is acting normal. The aerial radar hasn't gone off. Fly below 1,500 feet off the ground and nothing should go off," the voice buzzed.

"Okay."

Shooting off the farm's former cattle ground, the Girl of Steel made her way towards the facility, cutting through the wind. Once close, Kara slowed down and gently landing on road approaching the buildings. She looked to the distance, away from structures.

"I don't see anything. Where is the convoy?"

"The tracking is showing it is 200 feet north from you right now," the voice replied, "What do you mean you can't see it?"

"There's nothing here."

Kara looked around her, spinning in search for her expected arrival. At the sight of nothing, she punched the ground, evoking shockwaves and leaving her on her knees, exasperated. "Your tracking failed. How could you get something so simple so wrong?"

"What do you mean I got it wrong? Do you know who you are talking to? When have my abilities ever failed?" the voice countered, "Maybe it's your incompetent metahuman abilities that are wrong. Maybe it's just your ever-so-acclaimed 'super-vision' failing you."

Kara took a deep breath as that statement sank in for a moment, ignoring the incessant yelling coming from her earpiece. Focusing on the ground below her, she gazed deeply into the dirt, looking past the individual grains of sand and minerals that made up the soil below her, looking past the layers of sedimentation, and finally into a long-winded tube of metal running below the road.

"Shut up. I found it."

"You did, now? So, this display wasn't indicative of my immaculate work failing, but rather of a user error?" the voice responded, "How terribly shocking."

"It's below me. They've built some sort of underground road to make deliveries. Scan the area for any entrances."

"There's an old road that's blocked off about 30 miles south. It leads to a tunnel. It's impossible for you to reach them in time, not even your cousin-"

"Then I'll go the other way," Kara said, cutting off her partner, "do something about the cameras inside."

The Girl of Steel turned and approached the fenced facility. Upon reaching the electric perimeter, her eyes shot off beams of light, cutting open an entrance for herself. Kara kept marching on, staring at the floor and scanning for the underground convoy. Arriving at the main building, Kara opened a door that led her to an extended hallway. The linoleum floor reflected the white lights from the ceiling. She looked at an emergency escape map on the wall by the entrance and sighed. The door behind her labeled, "Emergency Exit Only."

Staring at the floor, the Kryptonian's eyes shot at the floor, carving a circle below her. As the floor fell down to the next level, the beams were already carving through the next floor. Kara went on and on, floating gracefully as she cut down the floors below her. Eventually, the floor carving fell a larger distance than before, and Kara found herself floating at the top of a large cave. At the dead center of the floor below her stood a crew of six armed guards, all taking aim at the hole carved in the cave's ceiling.

LED lights were attached to cables that were lined against the cave's interior, outlining its shape. On one side of the room sat an oversized screen with a row of controls below it. Opposite to the screen was an empty docking bay linked to a tunnel. The silhouette of a large metallic oval lingering over the docking bay was highlighted by two lights that were being emitted from the tunnel.

Kara tapped into her earpiece.

"Package is arriving, but there's something I need to do first."

"I know, I see the armed men," the voice on the other line responded, "Just take them out, Kara."

"You know that's not how we do things."

"You just love to complicate the obvious solutions, don't you?"

The guards approached their floating adversary, who began to emit a red light. Suddenly, gusts of wind began to circle the guards, who began to disappear, one by one. In the blink of an eye, the guards each found themselves alone, unarmed, and lost, miles away from their facility.

* * *

At the cave, the two arriving lights got brighter and brighter as a semi truck approached the docking bay. Once parked, the truck's headlights turned off, leaving the room to only be lit by the LED lights on the walls.

Two men got off the truck and climbed onto the platform on the docking bay. One approached the side of the truck, and flipped open a panel, unveiling a control board behind it. After punching some buttons, he signaled to his partner, who approached a console on the lip of the platform and flipped a switch.

Suddenly, the large oval that lingered over the docking bay lit up, and the truck's load floated up, attaching itself to the oval. The oval moved the load towards the middle of the room, and gently set the load down.

The trucker at the console approached the load, looking around the empty cavern.

"I thought there was supposed to be a security detail waiting for us here. I _know_ we arrived at the right time… right, Garth?"

The trucker turned around to look for his partner in the absence of a response.

"Garth? Where are you?"

A breeze started to creep up the lone trucker's shirt, slowly increasing its intensity with every second. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright red light approach him when suddenly, in a flash, the man found himself alone in front of a collapsed barnhouse. His face was sore, like something immensely heavy had been pressed against it for hours.

* * *

Kara returned to the empty cavern and landed by the load.

"Okay, I'm ready. Which one is it going to be?"

"Oh, you'll know," the earpiece responded, "it should be very apparent as soon as you-"

Static overcame the line, and Kara could no longer hear her partner from her earpiece.

"Hello? Are you there?" Kara attempted to communicate with the voice, completely exasperated, "You know, for claiming to be so good with robotics, you suck with the most basic communication methods."

"Don't be so hard on him, Kara," a deep voice responded, "He didn't know we would be able to hack into your comm line."

Kara froze and watched the screen at the end of the cavern lit up. The black screen would shake and glitch as a red circle blossomed towards the middle screen. She tensed up her fist and approached the control center, throwing her earpiece to the ground.

"I told you what would happen if you would approach me again. I warned you." Kara yelled, "What do you want from me?"

"Kara, we want to help you. You know we're on your side." the deep voice resonated, coming out of horn speakers located at the top corners of the cave.

"If you were, you wouldn't have left me alone. You wouldn't have killed him," the kryptonian responded, "You wouldn't have cowered away in fear, leaving everyone else alone."

"Kara… we miss him, too, but we had to hide if we stood a chance at survival. You know that's what he would've wanted."

"If you really cared about him, you would have told him he was wrong. You wouldn't have let him..." Kara's fists clenched up, and two thick beams of light projected out of her eyes. The monitor collided with the two beams, exploding upon impact.

"That's not how it works. You know that," the voice calmly responded, "All we can do is respect his decision, and pick up the pieces. Now, all we want is to help you. Let us be there for you."

"It's too late for that."

Kara shot two more beams of light at each speaker, destroying them. As one dropped by her, she yelled at its remains.

"What are you going to do to stop me now, _Brother Eye_? Try and electrocute me with these computers?"

"Do you even know what you planned on stealing, Kara?" the deep voice returned, this time coming from the inside of the truck's load.

The two doors at the end of the load burst open, as five bodies flew out of the freight. They circled around the room, before stopping at a standstill, all five surrounding Kara. She stared back at bodies before recognizing one as her former teammate, the Red Tornado.

"You really are shameless aren't you, Brother Eye?" Kara snarked at the floating androids, "To use the body of a former friend like that?"

"Give me a break, Kara. You know this isn't the Red Tornado. He hasn't used this body in decades."

"For someone that acts all high and mighty, you sure lack sympathy."

Supergirl took a look at her adversaries before launching beams of light at them. As the androids scrambled, constantly trailed by the lasers, the former husk of the Red Tornado flew behind Kara, landing a hit on her ribcage.

The kryptonian turned around, unfazed, and responded with a punch of her own, launching the android against the freight it came out of. The other four androids, all appearing to be derivatives of the Red Tornado model, circled around Kara, before all attacking her at the same time, completely overwhelming her.

As the four androids continued to attack Kara, a red light began to emit from her again. The glistening red hue kept increasing its luminosity before Kara's assailants were suddenly launched away from her, colliding against the cavern's walls.

The four androids remained on the floor, completely destroyed. The outstanding would-be Red Tornado lifted himself up from the crevice created from his collision against the freight.

In the center of the room was Kara, on her knees. She punched the floor, causing the whole cave to shake. In the wake of her punch was her right hand, whose red glove was now tattered. Kara removed the broken glove, revealing a bright red ring on her hand.

"Kara, _what did you do_?" the would-be Red Tornado asked.

Supergirl stared at the android and fired two fine beams of light directly at the android. The lasers sliced through his head, leaving behind two holes on the android's forehead. The lifeless mechanical body dropped to the floor.

"I don't know if you can still hear me, Vic, but don't you dare try and cross me again," Kara approached the broken body and lifted its head, "and you can tell J'onn the same goes out to him. Don't think I haven't noticed he's been staking me out all this time." She stared at the husk's dead eyes.

"Next time, I will find wherever you are, both of you, and I will kill you myself."

Dropping the broken body, Kara entered the freight. Inside were dozens of androids lined against the wall, all facing the freight's doors. In the back, however, was a pod. Kara approached it, and gently caressed it.

* * *

The earth cracked as Supergirl shot out of the cavern and into the night sky. The facility's south entrance - where Kara first entered the building - began to crumble down following her exit. The Kryptonian scanned her immediate surroundings, finding the security guards she previously castaway making their way back in the distance.

Taking a look at the pod she was holding over her head, Kara sighed, and tapped into her comms.

"Look, I don't even know if you can hear me, Morrow, but... Mission report: Successful. I'm transporting the asset back to the base."

Supergirl launched herself like a red rocket out into the night sky.


End file.
